For the first time, the teams behind BFI NETWORK are joining forces to celebrate and share 8 of their funded short films. Allow us to take you on a journey around the UK through thought-provoking films that will thrill, inspire and make you smile.

The package has been curated by BFI NETWORK and film experts Delphine Lievens and Katie Goh.

This event will feature a Q&A with filmmaker Rabie Mustapha, director of The Cities I Live In.

Sandpaper

A troubled young man stumbles upon a creative community group and becomes acquainted with the leader.

Director: Michael Mante / Run time: 16 mins

Catch a Butcher

In a maternity ward in 19th Century India, a nurse's first night on the job descends into terror as she discovers the truth behind mixed race babies sudden disappearances.

Director: Cassiah Joski-Jethi / Run time: 11 mins

The Piss Witch

Fed up with the constant judgments of those around her, Clare finds power in rebellion.

Director: Jason Barker / Rune time: 7 mins

Shagbands

During a sizzling summer in the noughties, a gang of South London schoolgirls face strange sexual awakenings, which culminate in a visceral fate.

Director: Luna Carmoon / Run time: 18 mins

Bahar

10 years after her daughter died, a lonely widow’s home is infested by a mouldy manifestation of her daughter’s spirit, but when her son returns from university and realises the severity of her emotional entombment she is forced to confront her festering guilt and choose between the living and the dead.

Director: Maryam Hamidi / Run time: 15 mins

The Cities I Live In

Newly settled in Belfast, a filmmaker tells his infant twins about his life journey. They see him leaving one violent place for another, longing for places that he will never see again, and hoping they will not carry his curse. Troubled cities travel as fragmented memories in this short film about a man searching for stillness. 

Director: Rabie Mustapha / Run time: 11 mins

Druids (dir. Shwan Nosratpour, 14mins)

Journey back through the mysterious mists of time on an adventure with three bungling druids, a mischievous squirrel and a psychedelic chicken as they try to restore the balance of nature after a bizarre astrological event threatens to change their world forever.

Finding ‘Appiness

After 70 years of keeping a devastating secret, eccentric fashionista Allan Bradbury is on a journey to recovery. By opening up about his childhood trauma can he find true ‘appiness in later life?

Director: Natasha Hawthornthwaite / Run time: 12 mins